


Introducing The Blood King

by Ghost0



Series: Warrior of Light [4]
Category: Brightburn (2019), DCU (Comics), Evil Dead - All Media Types, Predators (2010)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:00:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26704882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost0/pseuds/Ghost0
Summary: Diana briefly teams up with a Predator to deal with a surprise attack from an evil version of Superman. But more imprtantly, the mastermind reveals himself
Series: Warrior of Light [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1935460
Kudos: 6





	Introducing The Blood King

She knocked on the door. Waiting a couple of minutes, she heard the sound of a man struggling to get himself up on his feet and answer the door. When he did, she faced a dirty blonde that looked like he got shit faced last night. His tie was loose and his shirt partially untucked. It took a second, but he recognized the woman who made him get up.

“Wasn’t expecting a booty call this early. But I suppose I can get riled up if you give me a few luv.”

“Morning to you too, John.” Zatanna said as she pushed past him and into his home. Closing it after she walked in, he reached into his pocket and pulled out pack. Holding a cigarette in between his lips, he struggled with a lighter before it finally lit up. Taking in a deep inhale, he listened to what the sorceress said to him. “I need you to take a look at something. I can’t figure out what kind of magic I’m dealing with here.”

“So this is a consultation, eh?” Constantine took a few steps forward. She held out a vial to him, which he took and held up to the sunlight piercing through his window. “Where did you get this?”

“I was called to Paradise Island.” Zatanna answered, crossing her arms and sitting on the arm of a nearby chair. “Someone invaded the island and was fighting Diana. The they just disappeared. I can’t feel her anywhere in this dimension. And the magic that was left behind seems different from any kind I’m familiar with. Which is when I thought of you. If anyone knows about magic that shouldn’t be messed with, chances are you have to be involved.”

He gave a slight grin. “Always nice to be thought about. Unfortunately, as much as I would love to be the one who can just tell you what you’re dealing with, I can’t.” He placed the vial on a small table. “But I think I may know a little trick that could narrow down our list of assholes.” He pulled the cigarette from his mouth, exhaling slowly. He waved his hand towards a shelf behind Zatanna. “Grab me the brown book and a bunch of the salt.”

Getting up, she grabbed what he wanted and placed it on the chair in between them. John pushed furniture out of the way before using the salt to make a circle. He then used it to make a specific design, one that Zatanna recognized. A general containment design, should be able to hold anyone within unless they are super powerful. Grabbing the book, he flipped through a few pages. “Let’s see now…this one is as good as any.” Grabbing the vial that Zatanna brought over, he put the book down. Opening the vial, he poured the left behind magic aura in his hands and rubbed both of his hands. His palms held up in front of him, facing the salt the circle, he started a chant. The salt on the ground started to glow, Zatanna mentally preparing herself to help out if needed. As soon as John said the final words, the nearby window cracked and something appeared within the trap after a flash of light.

What appeared was a human. Or, the body at least was human. The eyes were all white, the skin scratched and bloody, even started to decay. It turned and growled, even sprinting at first. But it found it couldn’t get out. It banged at the invisible wall stopping him from escaping. Putting his hands down, John curiously looked at the thing he had summoned. 

“What is this John?” Zatanna asked him. “Some sort of zombie?”

“Your flesh will be torn from your body! I’ll decorate your home with your entrails, making sure you are alive so you can see me pull everything from your body!” It hissed and scratched, it’s eyes aiming directly at John.

“Not unless you know of any talking zombie. All though Grundy might count in that regard.” John took a step forward, breathing smoke into the creature’s face. “Tell me gorgeous, what should we call you?”

“You won’t be able to say my name when your mouth is full with my cock as I force you to swallow for all eternity!” The creature grinned and licked its lips as it stared back at Constantine.

“It’s always the same with you demons, isn’t it? Always with the cocks. What do you do if someone actually wants what your threatening with?” The creature tried hitting the air again, but with no success. 

Zatanna stepped forward, putting her hands on her hips. She spoke in an effort to speed things along. “Llet su tahw uoy era.”

“I am one of the Deadites, demons who happily terrorize, kill, and rape in service of the Dark Ones. The rape being mostly implied.” The creature’s eyes widened as it heard itself so willingly tell that information. “What kind of tick are you using on me, you bitch?!”

“I wouldn’t if I were you.” John told the Deadite. “Might make her do something you wish she hadn’t.” He took in another inhale.

It at first snarled, but then turned into a grin. “It doesn’t matter. Your planet jumping warrior is about to be killed. And after that, we’ll raze this world to the ground and- “

But then John stabbed a pocket knife in the creature’s throat. With a wave of his hand and a few more words, the Deadtie disappeared in another flash of light. Turning to look at him, Zatanna said “Not that I particularly enjoyed his company, but I think we could have gotten more out of him.”

“We got enough. We know the name of its kind, who they serve, and that one of our favorite Justice League celebrities has been hopping from planet to planet.” John walked back to his shelf, looking through some other books and materials. “If you can grab anything that belonged to Diana, I could find a way to look onto her across universes and pull her back. No guarantee, but better than the both of us just waiting for her to come back from vacation.” Exhaling through her nose, Zatanna disappeared to grab something of Diana’s. Constantine went to work to prepare his spell.

******

As soon as Diana appeared on the next world, bullet hit the tree that was not even a foot in front of her face. Reacting quickly, she grabbed her shield and held it in front of her, blocking more bullets form hitting her. There was some yelling and people moving. When she looked up, she was surrounded by a group of people, all aiming their weapons at her. She looked around, about a dozen of them. She tried to pick out who could be the leader, but a voice clarified that information for her.

“Who the fuck are you?” A woman yelled at her from several feet away. Diana meet her eyes, trying to not come across as a threat. So she didn’t try to grab her sword or lasso, but kept her shield up.

“My name is Diana.” She answered back. “I just showed up.”

“Bullshit! Then how come we didn’t see you fall from the sky?” One of the men stopped her from asking where she was. But before she could have a chance to say anything back, the man who spoke up was decapitated by lasers. The rest of them turned around and tried to find the source of the attack. A blur of red circled around them. A few got punched, their hearts pulled out and ripped from their chest. One was thrown so hard and far, he got impaled on a branch a couple of miles away. They could see at least some of their bullets were hitting whatever it was, but it didn’t make it stop or even slow it down. Now was when Diana grabbed her sword and prepared herself for a battle. But by the time she had it in her hand, she looked up at the attacker who decided to stop. She looked up at him, holding the woman who had initially spoke to her by the hair. Floating in the air, he had a red cape and a mask that covered his entire head. But she could tell by the size of his body, the hands by his side…this was a child. 

He lifted the woman up and made her face him. His eyes glowed red and he shot lasers right into her head. Diana watched in shock, seeing someone so young kill so easily without a second thought. Dropping the body on the ground, scorched holes still burning and smoking, Diana crouched and braced herself as he came at her and tried to punch through the shield. But it held, seemingly making the young child confused. Taking the chance, she pushed him away and brought her sword back, replacing it with her lasso. She tied up the child, struggling against the binding. The more he struggled, the more her lasso glowed and fought back against him. The kid landed on the ground, kneeling and leaning his head towards the ground. After a few moments of struggle, he jumped up and flew into the air. Diana was pulled with him, going above the tree and looking across the lush vegetation. The kid kept straight for a while before taking a sharp dive downwards. Figuring he was trying to use the tree to knock her off, she loosened the lasso and fell downwards far away from where he was going. Jumping from branch to branch, she finally landed on the ground safely. But what she saw made her realize that she wasn’t alone.

She was in some sort of camp. There were skulls on pikes in various spots. Looking around, she could see that something has been using this camp on top of a hill as a camp. A base of operations for…Diana looked closely at some of the skulls. Most of them were in shapes that she didn’t recognize at all. This made her look outward at the surrounding environment. It was similar to the jungles of Earth, but she saw plants and saw the quick movements of creatures that definitely weren’t from Earth. Not just a different universe, but now she was on a completely different planet. 

Hearing sudden movement, she rolled away from the spot she was standing. Hearing the blast of a laser hitting where she was confirmed her instincts. Grabbing her sword, she aimed it towards her new attacker. He was taller, the hair growing from his large head looked similar to dreadlocks. He had claw like hand, with gauntlets on his arms. A shoulder cannon on his left side, next to his face. The eyes were yellow and seemed to be permanently glaring. His jaw was a mandible, opening outward as he showed his teeth and snarled at the intruder in his camp. But before either of them could make a move, they both heard the far off sound of someone moving fast, moving closer. Looking at the creature before her, it was clear that this being lived as a predator. The humans, he somehow brought him here. To hunt, to give me a thrill. But she saw him tilt his head and growled out towards the forest. Breathing in, Diana decided to take a gamble.

“He killed them.” She got his attention when she spoke. Wasn’t completely sure if it understood what she was saying. She pointed her sword in the direction of the incoming challenger. “He is coming for us. But if we unite…” She pointed to him and tapped her chest plate. “We can stand a chance.” She wasn’t completely sure if they did. She might even have to fight against this predator from killing the kid. But she also knows that she needs to align herself with anyone in order to subdue him. The predator stared at her for a few moments. Kneeling down, he grabbed something metallic from the ground. Standing back up, he placed what was a mask on his face. He stepped forward, still apart from Diana but more shoulder to shoulder than before. They faced the same direction, the predator aiming the cannon on his should and firing the moment he saw something emerge from the trees.

While a normal blast would kill its target, the masked murderer came out mostly unscratched. Well, a bit of his shirt was scorched and he did fall to the ground. Taking the chance, Diana rushed forward and hit the kid in the side of his head using the handle of her blade. Disoriented, he still got to his feet and started to shoot lasers again. Both Diana and the predator dodge and moved quickly. Looking back and forth, the kid was trying to decide who was the bigger threat. The predator came forward and tried to scratch the skin of the kid. He didn’t bleed, but the alien’s hand grabbed onto his mask and tore it off. Diana saw within the kid’s eyes nothing but hate and bloodlust. Running in front of the predator, she blocked the lasers with her shield. Instead of thanking, he pushed her out of the way and started to brawl. While the kid proved to be a quick fighter with distance, it started to show that he wasn’t as good with hand to hand combat. He showed increased strength, but he wasn’t given the time to properly focus that strength and summon the right amount. 

He grabbed the kid by what was left of his shirt and threw him. His back hit a big rock, his body hitting the ground. It became clear there wasn’t much strength left in him. The predator walked forward, grabbing a device that extended into some kind of spear. He brought it up and was ready to plunge it into his prey, but Diana lunged forward and used her sword to stab the hunter through his chest. The predator was brought to his knees, dropping his weapon. He landed on his back, bringing one of his gauntlets upwards. He pressed a couple of buttons, and then Diana heard some kind of beeping. She looked down, not recognizing any of the symbols on it. But she didn’t need to know in order to understand that he planned on taking her and the child with him into death. Diana looked back at the kid, who seemed to struggle to regain consciousness. The debate in her head lasted only a millisecond, but she reached forward to grab him and started to run. She heard the explosion begin, the heat reaching out to reach her and…

******

When she put her hands out in front of her to stop herself from falling, her hands were pressed against black marble. Confused, she waited a few moments to catch her breath before picking her head up. She turned to see the young kid who was using his hands to push himself up. As he did so, she saw two pale bare feet stand in front of him. A red glow came over the boy and he was gone. Diana forced herself up, and as she did so, she got a look at the stranger who now stood above her.

Just above the pale feet was the bottom of a black fabric that wrapped itself around the legs of the mysterious man. It stopped once it reached the waist. Above the waist, Diana saw the pale thin body coming out of the fabric. As her eyes ran up the torso, she noticed the wings. But not wings made of feathers. These large wings were boney, with thin stretches of skin giving it the illusion that these are functioning appendages. The face…streaks of dried blood ran down it. His eyes were red where it was supposed to be white, and the pupils were as dark as night. And around his forehead was a crown. But not one made out of gold or other precious metal. Diana saw that it was made out of bone…that grew out of his head. The source of the blood that had ran down his face. Diana remained on one knee, taking in the sight of this unusual being who stared down at her with a blank expression. Silence was all there was between them. At least, for a little while.

“He would have killed you.” It almost seemed as if he was scolding her. Diane grunted and got herself up on both feet, making sure she had everything on her. 

“Only because he had clearly been manipulated into doing so.” Diana responded. “I was going to question him to see if I can get any answers from him. Figure out who sent him and why.”

“A smart decision. But no, he would kill you.” He turned his body and slowly walked away. Diana saw that she was surrounded by black marble. Several pillars, a long hallway. The black marble had specks of white scattered all over. But on closer inspection, Diana thought those specks could be the stars themselves. Turning back around, she walked to catch up with the stranger. He stopped when he was in front of a giant pool of blood. There was no mistaking that was what it was once Diana approached the edge. But in the blood were images, of the kid standing over her, mask less and sending lasers through her eyes and head. Angry, she turned to look at the man beside her, he just stared down.

“What is this/” Diana demanded.

“What would have been if I had not intervened. At least, the most likely path for this multiverse.”

Diana crossed her arms. “THIS multiverse? There is one endless multiverse, this I am familiar with very well.”

“Ah yes. All of those crisis events. I forgot how much of a regular thing that seems to be for you. No Diana, your multiverse is one. There are others, each one focused on having planets and realities existing to serve a theme or purpose. And just like how The Monitor watches events play out for yours, I watch – and admittedly intervene from time to time – for this one.”

“What do they call you then?”

He tilted his head as he continued to look downward. No response for a while. But then he pointed outward towards the pool, a picture of an Earth appearing on the surface. “I believe when I showed up on that one early on, I was given a name after couple of homeless individuals accidently caught sight of me. The Blood King…yes, they saw me in a pool of blood. Pouring out from the bodies of those who died during an annual event known as The Purge. I was there to see it for myself. I was still new at my task at the time and was curious to see how it worked in practice. I believe the government there eventually found a way to get rid of it. I am interested to check on it soon to see the consequences…”

Diana felt that he was trailing off. But remembering the color of the glow around the kid when he made him disappear, she made an educated guess. “You’ve been teleporting me. Sending me to all of these different worlds.”

Turning his head, he met her eyes. Again, no expression or reaction. “Yes, that is my work. Side note, the boy will have no memory. I don’t see how having that experience would change anything for him on his planet. Normally, I try to keep all these worlds apart, unless I feel the pull of the cosmos say otherwise. But my creator asked me to carry out a task for her involving you.”

“Your creator?” Diana looked around to see if there was another person nearby waiting to be revealed.

“She is not here. She lives in your universe, where I myself was created.” From the floor cam a solid black throne, which the Blood King sat in. “I was sent out here to this universe to make sure fear and horror thrive. To make sure that blood is spilled, whether it be due to vengeance or a different, possibly twisted reason. In essence, I make sure darkness reigns.”

“For what purpose?” She grabbed the hilt of her sword, getting a little tense and ready to attack if needed.

“To create despair. To break hope. But never completely destroyed.” He leaned back in his throne. “Hope is needed to help bring a temporary end to acts of violence, to make sure the victims are properly motivated to fight back. Don’t misunderstand me, good always ends up winning. But just barely. The feeling of surviving against all odd quickly fades into the realization and despair that they are broken beyond repair. And then the event plays out again, with different victims, sometimes different aggressors. Sometimes those that previously survived are pulled back in just to be killed.”  
“And you watch all of this from here?” Diana tightened her grip. “What does any of this have to do with me?”

He looked right at her, holding his hands together. “You are one of the most powerful symbols of hope. My creator became curious to see if there was a way to destroy you. Not kill, but push you past the brink, to make you lose hope yourself and to allow yourself to be killed by the overwhelming force against you.”

“I will not be an experiment!” She pulled out her sword and held the blade towards the Blood King. “You think I won’t fight back?”

“We are counting on it. If only for long enough for you to realize the pointless of it.” He closed his eyes for a solid minute. It was through this he peeked back into her world. “Right now, your protégé has become possessed by a dream demon that was once a child killer and molester. Allies are trying to bring you back home, without realizing they have attracted the attention of beings known as The Dark Ones who will send demons known as Deadites to invade and destroy your world. And you are far away from your own multiverse.”

Diana looked down at the pool of blood beside her. Turning, she gave one last look of defiance to the Blood King. “If this acts as a window into other worlds, then I bet it serves as a door. I’ll join them and protect my home – as well as prove to your creator that I don’t give up in the face of evil.” She turned and jumped into the pool of blood, disappearing into another world once fully submerged. The throne turned and moved, letting the Blood King look to see where she ended up. She as in another world, one closer to her home than the previous world. But he was satisfied to see that she was still a long way away. He got up and walked away, getting ready to reunite with his creator to see the final battle commence. He planned on bringing Diana back home only to watch her friends be killed one by one. But if he had stayed to look at which world Diana had actually ended up in, he would feel the faint sense of fear at the realization of the unlikely ally she would most probably end up making.


End file.
